Plinko anyone?

The fifth graders look forward all year to "mini society." This is when they come up with a business idea and go through the steps of starting their own business: Getting a business license, taking the test to get a food-handler's permit, etc. They also have to pick a location and pay more if they get a prime location. (The location is determined by a "land grab" where they run to the spot they want to have their business and the first one there gets it.) The other kids in the school earn "mini bucks" and get to go spend them at the businesses they so desire. (Let's just say they get plenty of candy that day at school! :)

Tyler worked with three other boys on their business. They had several ideas, but they ended up doing a sucker grab (two of the boys) and Plinko (Tyler and his friend Jackson, who ended up being in Disneyland during the mini society). By the way, Jackson prayed for rain so the mini society would be rescheduled for the following week. As I dropped off Tyler the morning of the mini society, I thought how nice it looked outside -- sunny and bright and perfect to be outside. We lathered him in sunscreen and I sent him on his way.

Then an hour later it looked miserable! The wind was blowing, it was cloudy, and it started to pour. I didn't know what they were going to do -- they would surely cancel, except that all the kids brought their stuff and set up thinking this was the day. (I figured that Jackson must have remembered to pray right when it started instead of earlier in the day. ;) So I ran down to the school to see if Tyler needed a jacket if the mini society continued as planned. I drove to the back of the school and was so surprised to see all the students outside in the rain. Really?

Well, I took Tyler a jacket and umbrella and found that they had actually relocated to inside and had their businesses running inside. However, the cotton candy machine of one business started smoking and set off the smoke detectors, which forced everyone outside into the rain. Tyler didn't look too grumpy about it:

In fact, he said his teacher said this would be the most memorable mini society ever! She is so positive, and the kids feed off of it. We'll surely miss her next year. Anyway, eventually they went back in and Tyler got people playing his Plinko game. I think it was quite a hit:

We used a 50-cent piece (which was stolen at the mini society!) and a peso to go down the board. Players got different prizes depending on if they landed on 1, 2, 3 or 4 (with 4 being a can of pop!). It is actually pretty fun to play, and I love the sound it makes. Now that I've practiced somewhat I need to get to the Price is Right and win some money instead of the stickers I kept winning. :)

But guess who loved playing Plinko the most? He played it for about 30 minutes straight one evening:

Who knew Plinko is a great diversion for busy, busy toddlers? :)